Takamine P3NY New Yorker

The P3NY New Yorker is a Takamine’s modern version of the parlor guitar, featuring updated hardware and modern building technology. And since Takamine is known for popularizing the acoustic-electric – they equipped the P3NY New Yorker with built-in pickup and preamp electronics.

Although a bit bigger than the usual parlor guitars, the Takamine P3NY “New Yorker” is the smallest body type that the company offers, and as such it is labeled as a parlor-style acoustic. The name is further justified by the overall vintage appeal of the instrument, which includes an elegant looking slotted headstock.

The body features a solid cedar top with hand-scalloped x bracing, paired to a solid sapele back and laminated sapele sides. Cedar tops are usually found on nylon string guitars, and it is an interesting choice for a small bodied guitar, slightly taming the mids while adds emphasis to the lower midrange – resulting in a soft warmer tonality.

And it’s not just about the sound, the earthy look of the satin finished cedar top gives the guitar an elegant vintage appeal that matches the parlor shape quite well. While the overall look is pretty straightforward, Takamine did not compromise on aesthetic details by adding ivory binding on the top and back, dark purfling, and a concentric-ring rosette with wood marquetry.

The neck is carved from African mahogany, with a scale length of 25.3″. It is topped by a rosewood fretboard with 21 nickel silver frets. Nut width is pretty much standard at 1.675″ while fretboard radius is 12″. Wood dot-in-dot inlays serve as fret markers. The slotted headstock complement’s the guitar’s earthy appeal, and are equipped with gold tuners with amber buttons.

Another notable feature of the P3NY is its rosewood “pinless” bridge with Takamine’s proprietary “split saddle”. This bridge design helps improve sustain, while the split saddle allow for better intonation.

Finally, this parlor guitar is a full fledged acoustic-electric featuring Takamine’s CT4B II preamp system with three-band EQ, volume control and built-in tuner. This particular pickup is interesting because it employs six individually shielded piezo electric elements, one for each string. The pickup also penetrates the bridge plate, soundboard and bridge to make direct contact with the saddle, and it is also mechanically attached to the top for more contact.

You can’t use an electric guitar amp if you want to get a faithful reproduction of the P3NY New Yorker’s tonal characteristics – see this guide for more information: The Best Acoustic Guitar Amps.

Check out the demo video below:

The Takamine P3NY New Yorker has an MSRP of $1,595, and it is currently retailing for $1800. For more information, visit Takamine.